In the past few years, the railway industry has been willing to at least consider technologies once thought to be unusual or unconventional—autonomous or semi-autonomous freight and passenger trains, and battery-electric, hybrid and HFC (hydrogen fuel cell) locomotives and multiple-units. Now comes a passenger train concept from startup American Solar Rail, Inc. (ASR) that, though it’s a departure from “conventional” or “traditional” rail technology, could work, provided it’s given a chance to be tested. It’s promising enough to be taken seriously by the Federal Railroad Administration and the Association of American Railroads research and test subsidiary MxV Rail.
Described by Founder and CEO Robert Green and Executive Vice President Business Development Warren Getler as a “solar-powered high-speed rail network,” ASR was formed in 2020 to leverage “decades of research and focus on a national template for an advanced High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail (HSIPR) system, one also capable of carrying light freight. Our equipment has patented technology, and subsequent network innovations derived from the patents are gaining visibility and solid interest. ASR is no longer a concept. The IP (intellectual property), operational plans and energy/power designs are nearly complete. The past two years have been very productive.”
ASR’s proprietary, patented system consists of a BESS (battery-electric storage system)-powered EMDI® railcar (a passenger locomotive) that harnesses solar energy for recharging “on the fly” and eliminates the capital and maintenance costs of a catenary system. EMDI stands for “EMbark-DIsembark” of passengers. The primary trainset, instead of stopping, slows down but keeps moving while autonomous individual railcars, the EMDIs, seamlessly uncouple/couple for passenger and cargo exchange at stations. The in-transit passenger/cargo exchange lowers passenger transit time by 30%; the amount of time saved is variable based upon the route length. “Our electric trains only need good tracks to operate,” says Green.
ASR, Green notes, has been reviewed for validation by third parties. In early 2021, Green and his team contacted MxV Rail (then TTCI) to present the company’s mission and engineering needs. In conversations with Executive Director of Business Development Josh Lippy (who in addition to MxV Rail and predecessor company TTCI had worked for Railinc, Navis Rail and Primus Global Services/RailcarRx), ASR determined that the project “did not present mechanical or engineering problems” and that all the necessary technology was available. In August 2021, ASR contracted with MxV Rail to evaluate designs and concepts.
“ASR, first and foremost, wanted the EMDI to enable HSIPR,” says Green. “By October 2021, MxV Rail confirmed that all the technology was now available commercially, in one form or another. We knew then our concepts and designs could create one of the most effective passenger trains in America, especially with the new proprietary EMDI railcar. Currently, we are positioned to be the sole electric HSIPR train system with this capability.”
In May 2023, ASR received a final feasibility report, Review and Assessment of the Mechanical, Communication and Train Control Aspects of the EMbark-DIsembark (EMDI) Concept, from MxV Rail. “The EMDI concept is unique in the sense that the EMDI car allows passenger embarkation and disembarkation at the running speed of a passenger train,” MxV Rail’s Executive Summary says. “The EMDI car effectively becomes a moving station while the passenger train can bypass the physical stations with the EMDI car ferrying passengers to and from the passenger train. ASR proposed that, by eliminating dwell time, the EMDI concept could compete with the average running speeds between station stops and construction costs of other higher-speed trains by allowing the rail infrastructure to be constructed at a lower cost due to the ability of the EMDI train to run at a lower speed while maintaining an average speed that is similar to higher-speed trains. High-speed trains require infrastructure that meets the highest of quality standards to ensure the running safety of the train and passenger comfort. The EMDI concept allows the passenger train to run at a lower speed than a conventional high-speed train. The reduction in running speed required by the EMDI concept may require less-expensive track to be constructed and maintained.
“From the initial concept review, areas of further investigation and development were identified. This concept review led ASR to contract MxV Rail in July 2022 to further assess the mechanical concepts as well as the signaling and train control aspects of the EMDI concept. Key findings:
- “No single item that would make a rail system utilizing the EMDI concept completely unfeasible could be identified.”
- “Though much of the needed technology exists in some form, most of the areas identified for further investigation and development present technical challenges that would have to be addressed: Existing rolling stock designs can be adapted to fulfill the requirements of the EMDI. Automatic couplers with self-alignment features can be used as the basis of the EMDI coupling system, and active alignment mechanisms may be required to further enhance the reliability of the coupling.
oDepending on the maximum catchup speed of the EMDI and the coupling speed, the minimum theoretical distances between stations are 4 to 28.3 miles. The time and distance required for coupling and uncoupling highly depend on passenger behavior and flow between the train and the EMDI, which may influence the theoretical minimum distances between stations.”
“Those 21 months under technical review were well spent,” says Green. “On Sept. 26, 2023, MxV Rail experts joined us in a meeting with nine experts from the Federal Railroad Administration about next steps. I had sent the Feasibility Reports to the FRA ahead of our meeting. The report focused exclusively on the EMDI railcar and the rail portion of ASR. The FRA was satisfied with our progress and confirmed they were ready to meet weekly to get the project moving. In the initial FRA meeting, we had obtained some important agreements about the ability to connect our EMDI to the train at 20 mph as being compliant with existing federal regulations. My Railway Travel Time Analysis software determined 20 mph speed was sufficient to be commercially viable. We will be seeking approval for in-transit connection speeds between 60 and 80 mph to increase our train’s average speed.”
“Another reason FRA was interested was that they had received news of my communications with the California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA),” adds Green. “Earlier, I had introduced CHSRA to the EMDI and our reasoning for use of solar as the most inexpensive energy available. Not long after, the CHSRA Sustainability Department announced that solar energy could reduce high-speed rail operating electricity costs by 75%, some $14 million annually. So, in effect, ASR had gotten the CHSRA to agree with the solar part of our Business Plan. Between our visit with the FRA on the EMDI and the subsequent actions of the CHSRA in adopting our solar designs, we have excellent third-party validation of our entire plan. We are now ready to start certifying the EMDI.”
Green notes that, although ASR is positioned as a high-speed (up to 200 mph) technology, “its cost and performance of efficiencies work on any passenger rail system at any speed. An ASR train does not have to stop for passenger exchange, saving 30% of passenger travel time. Our equipment can turn existing inefficient rails into some very capable intercity passenger rail networks. We have compelling designs that are not found on any other systems.”
Green says that ASR’s development has included calculations on the energy efficiency of electric vs. diesel: “Our pure energy savings or increased efficiency using our own solar as a core power source is about 75%. For example, CSX says that one gallon of diesel fuel can move one ton of freight close to 500 miles. Our calculations show that one “gallon” of electrons—41 kWh equivalent—can move one ton of people—10 passengers averaging 200 pounds each—1,400 miles. And, ASR and its Licensee-owned solar energy, in terms of LCOE (levelized cost of electricity, a metric that measures the average cost of generating electricity over a generator’s lifetime, expressed in dollars per kilowatt hour) is not prone to any market swings.”
“ASR’s business model is based sharing our patent with our competitors as Licensees of our competitive advantage to expedite the national rollout of HSIPR,” Green explains. “We desire to share ownership of all the assets—solar fields, energy transmission lines, rail depots, energy storage facilities, and the EMDI. Our rail licensee/partner will take ownership of rail equipment and provide O&M (operations and maintenance) while retaining 90% of revenues from passengers and freight. ASR’s efficiency is going to make the lowest possible cost easy. Owning the solar farms combined with the EMDI’s superior operating efficiency makes our earnings estimate for our passenger rail systems potentially ‘best in class.’
“The average total revenue of a ton of coal transported 500 miles, based on a 2023 figure of $0.196 per ton-mile at a $3 per gallon diesel cost, is $98.00. The average cost of ASR moving one ton of passengers 500 miles on one gallon of solar electrons at 5¢/kWh is $2.05/gallon equivalent. A high-speed electrified train with a maximum operating speed of 200 mph and six to eight station stops on 200-mile route delivers an average speed of 130 mph, and costs as much as $100 million per mile to build with Class 9 tracks. An ASR EMDI-equipped train operating on Class 7 tracks without the need for catenary can deliver 115-120 mph average speed for, depending upon location, 65% of the cost. Do we want to pay the cost of a 200-mph train only to waste 35% of the value for an average speed of 130 mph? Isn’t it more sensible to build the more affordable performance of a 130-140 mph EMDI train with 115-120 mph average speed and many other efficient innovations?”
